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Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness

A daily devotional by Gini Crawford, MSW

Introduction

I have felt God wanted me to write a Biblical Devotion on forgiveness for many years. I had jotted down many notes on forgiveness but could never seem to find the time to organize them into a study of some sort. Finally after two years and managing two political campaigns, I took the time to do it. When I realized I had many pages of information, the devotion became a short Daily Bible Study or Daily Devotional Series.

As Christians, our past, present, and future sins are fully and abundantly forgiven in Jesus, but we have a responsibility to forgive others. And I know at times forgiving someone is about the last thing we want to do. In this devotion, I will answer questions such as: What is the most undeserved forgiveness? Why and how to forgive as a Christian? How forgiving is misunderstood? How important is forgiveness to our well-being and health? Why is not forgiving a sin? Studying forgiveness from God's standpoint and applying it to our lives will make us more like Christ, and believe it or not, much happier people.

Directions

This Daily Devotional called Because of God, we have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, consists of 11 Days, of practical themes on forgiveness. In this Daily Devotional Series on forgiveness, I will use a number of Bible verses relating to each day's theme. It is very important that you read all the Bible passages! It will help you to grow greatly in your knowledge of God. I have used my mother's sister, my aunt, and her life, along with the story of Joseph in Genesis, as some of my main examples on forgiving. Each day should take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Psychological Distress and Forgiveness of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, introduces my aunt and her psychological problems and struggles with not forgiving. It explains how unforgiveness makes psychological struggles worse and forgiveness gives you peace of mind.

Anyone Can Let Us Down of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, talks about how everyone will let us down. It shows how too high of expectations on people can cause problems and high stress in our lives if we aren't willing to forgive. It discusses relying on God for relational and emotional needs, not on people. It also talks about how it can seem God has let you down.

God Tells Us to Forgive of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, talks about the importance of forgiving from verses in Matthew 6, including The Lord's Prayer. It highlights that God forgave us through believing in Jesus Christ, not because of our works.

God Works All for Our Good of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, uses the example of Joseph's trial filled life in Genesis to discuss how believing that God works all things for our good gives us strength to forgive anything.

Trusting God and Forgiving Go Together of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, talks about why trusting God is important in all areas of our lives, how it helps us to forgive, and why at times, it is hard to trust God. It also discusses Jeremiah 29:11, God's plans for our life and forgiveness.

God Give Me Strength and Desire to Forgive of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, discusses how some things are humanly impossible to forgive, but we still can forgive them through God. Jesus is our example on how to forgive. It talks about how important it is to ask God for strength and desire to forgive.

Forgiveness Displays Love of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, explains that love does not take into account a wrong suffered (from 1 Corinthians 13:5), which means to love right you need to forgive. It also discusses why keeping a record of wrongs is detrimental to us and practical ways to not keep an account of wrongs.

Forgiveness Brings Healing and Health of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, describes how unforgiveness brings high stress, which affects our body in negative ways. It also talks about forgiveness bringing health and healing. It also reasons out why not forgiving someone is ridiculous in the long term.

God's Forgiveness Is Not a Feeling, It's a Fact of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, uses numerous Bible verses to discuss the fact of God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. It describes how feelings can be wrong, and how to reason using God's Word to get reality.

Forgiveness Leads to Restoration of the daily devotional, Because of God, We have the Healing Gift of Forgiveness, talks about forgiveness bringing restoration to us and our relationships, while unforgiveness brings destruction. Bitterness is defined. It discusses how important forgiving ourselves is.